Taking Sides

by Norma Klein

Twelve-year-old Nell adjusts to life with her father and five-year-old brother after her parents divorce.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens

143 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1982

About the author

Norma Klein was born in New York City and graduated cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa from Barnard College with a degree in Russian. She later received her master's degree in Slavic languages from Columbia University.

Ms. Klein began publishing short stories while attending Barnard and since then she had written novels for readers of all ages. The author got her ideas from everyday life and advised would-be writers to do the same -- to write about their experiences or things they really care about.

Ms. Klein died in 1989.

Reviews

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nell is 13, her parents have just gotten divorced from each other for the second time. She and her 5 year old brother Hugo go to live with their dad in NYC rather than with their mother, who -weirdly -lives with her loopy doopy friend, Greta, in Greta's family's house in New Jersey. This book is purely a product of the 1970's The character descriptions, the lackadaisical attitudes towards strange living arrangements, the ways in which adults interacted with their teenaged daughters. An example of how this book's physical center is based on outdated norms - The mom, to whom 5 year old Hugois obviously very attached, almost thoughtlessly deposits the little boy on the dad's NYC apartment doorstep because Greta is not "maternal" enough for Hugo to live with. Hugo is reasonably distraught and no one seems to care, least of all the dad who is decidedly less "paternal" than Greta is "maternal", making him wholly unlikable from that point forth. Nell makes no bones about the fact that she loves her father more than her mother, she adores him to the point of obviousness - even her mother makes snide comments about it. Despite the familial oddities, this novel is a good example of how Norma Klein was really able to tap into the consciousness of a teenage girl at that time. She was a master of 1970's era teenage girl angst little dramas, way more so than Judy Blume. Her stories, like this one, were often set in NYC which made them a little less relatable to the rest of us. But the protagonists and their feelings towards their parents and siblings were almost always personally relatable and Nell is no exception. She is average looking and barely middle class but unconcerned with not being beautiful or having nice things, smart but not brilliant or with astounding talents or ambitions, shy but not entirely insecure. She is stunningly average. This was still a time in which girls were not obsessed with their looks, fashion, pop culture or popularity to the extent they are today. So in that way it is entirely dated, but the way in which a teenage girl's feelings and anxieties are expressed and realized is not.

[Barb Fecteau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another re-read from my youth. I love this. I read it every 8 years or so. I was well into my 20s before I realized that her mother was a lesbian. Yep, real careful reader, there. I was obsessed with the scene where the boy she likes visits her when she is babysitting at the Sherry-Netherland. Oh, the classy, classy Sherry-Netherland. It still rings like a poem in my head.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I mentioned in my review for Mom, the Wolf Man, and Me , I was looking for something easy and lighthearted to read after my deep dive into Jackie Collins and I decided on some of the Norma Klein young adult novels I read as a “young adult” myself (I used to love that phrase. It made me feel so grown up). And here we are…

In Taking Sides, we follow Nell over the course of one year as she adjusts to living with her dad after her parent’s divorce. Nell has a 5-year old brother, Hugo, who does half days of school and since her dad works from home writing science textbooks in the new apartment he bought it makes sense for the children to live with him. The only thing is the apartment has two bedrooms. So, Nell finds herself sharing a room with Hugo, who’s completely distraught over the change in routine and starts peeing the bed as a result.

Meanwhile, Nell’s computer programmer mom lives with her “best friend” Greta in a gorgeous old house on the beach. Their side hustle is they're co-authors of Rebecca Ingersoll gothic romance novels and they’re in the midst of writing their third.

Nell has to adjust to living in the city with her clueless dad during the week, staying with her mom at the beach on the weekends, and dealing with adolescent changes as she approaches her 13th birthday—like getting her period and kissing a boy she has a crush on.

One plot twist big reveal I kept waiting for was that Nell’s mom and best friend Greta are lesbian lovers—which would have made this novel infinitely better but I’m certain that was too progressive for a YA novel at the tiem. As a kid I was never picked up on this but as an adult I noticed that Klein very subtly hints at this fact. Bravo.

As I’ve mentioned in my other review, there are a few common threads with Norma Klein novels: Her protagonists are unusually worldly, astute, and self-aware; her protagonists are from upper class families even though Klein tries to downplay that fact; and her protagonists are always the “ugly” girl to their drop-dead-gorgeous-but-doesn’t-know-it best friend.

In this case, 12 going on 13-year-old Nell is incredibly self-assured and smart—sometimes smarter than her parents. Nell is chagrined they have to live in a two-bedroom uptown apartment instead of the three bedroom uptown apartment they lived in before the divorce. However, it's close to the really good private school Nell attends—on scholarship, but still... Nell’s dad is dating wealthy socialite Arden and Nell’s mom lives in Greta’s century old house on the beach her parents gave to her. Also, Nell’s best friend Heather is a gorgeous and successful model (alongside her two older sisters) but Heather is super cool, doesn’t realize how gorgeous she is and quits modeling because she was bored. All things the average YA reader can’t relate to yet all things that keep Norma Klien’s novels engaging.

Anyhow, Taking Sides is another fun yet extremely dated, walk down memory YA novel of a long gone era.

[elissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved all of Klein's books when I was growing up, but this is one that I don't remember a whole lot about.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite Norma Klein books I read as a child. Warm, funny and heartfelt.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

And yet, I held on to the library copy for another entire life of a seventh grade AFTER I wrote this. Sigh. Why can't I keep ALL THE BOOKS?

Picked up a horrible old and unattractive copy of Norma Klein's Taking Sides (1974), and when I realized that the main character was named Nell, I thought I could get Picky Reader to read it, since that is her name. No luck. Nell's parents are divorced, and she lives with her father in NYC, spending time with her mother, who lives with her friend Greta out in the country. Adjustment is difficult, especially when her father starts dating. This was probably edgy at one time, since it mentions periods and alludes to parents spending weekends with members of the opposite sex, but it just felt old and tired. I kept waiting to find out that Nell's mother and Greta were an item. This author, who died in 1989, wrote a huge number of books for young people, including Mom, The Wolfman and Me and Sunshine, which I remember from Prose and Poetry speech competitions. The question of the day: If a book was made into an After School Special or a Movie of the Week with Kristy McNicol, can it still be relevant?

[Gracyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nell is a 12 year old who is about to go through the most transformative year of her life. Her mom and dad have divorced, for the second time, and after summer she is going to live with her dad in the city. Nell feels bad because she’s always loved her dad more, aren’t you supposed to love your parents equally? She spends the weekends in the country with her mom and her moms friend Greta and then her and her brother go back to their dads apartment for the weekdays. Nell has to navigate her all girls school, her dad’s new girlfriend, and she has to share a room with her little brother Hugo. The odds are really stacked against her. By the end of it will she finally feel like a teenager?

I love this book, it was in a pile of books my grandma gave me when I was little and i’ve read it probably five times now. The last time I read it I had to have been in middle school, I found so much in it this time that i’ve never noticed before. This book is so fast paced, there isn’t really a plot, it's more character driven which I didn’t like as a kid but now I appreciate. Reading this book is the equivalent to people watching, but through the eyes of a 12 year old, in the best way.

[Amy Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ this book was super weird to me. It was full of opportunities for drama…but there really isn’t any. It’s called Taking Sides, but that doesn’t really happen at all…I guess it’s just a snapshot of a year in the life of a family in NYC. While there wasn’t much drama, they do live very untraditional lives. I enjoyed it a lot. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Tiasha Hridita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ups and downs of life. It showed how little details mattered when we han zero experience of life. How life goes on.

[Eliza Eder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 1974 classic!

[Avatar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that taking sides was an exelent novel that was out dated by a long shot. It's name card has names from 1990 and 1991, its crazy! This book is basically about a 13 year old girl that has divorced parents that live in New Jersy and New York and Nell, the girl, is bouncing in between.

my opinion is that this book is quite outdated and has strong language but i am fine with that. I also think that this book could use some imoproving.

[Audrey Ettinger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found this unfamiliar Norma Klein book at the Free Library of Philadelphia store. Includes her common themes —divorcing parents, first love, friendship, dating relationships. Aside from the dad-has-custody twist, mot particularly exciting. Nell does seem more like a 12-13 year old than some of Klein’s characters, and I like that she often turns a male friend into a love interest rather than some “exciting stranger.”